Worse than I could have imagined, 10 March 2010
Fearing his father will have his nightclub closed down, club owner and singer Danny Warren (Phil Regan) goes to extremes to ensure no one is able to serve papers on him. In an effort to have the papers served, Papa Warren hires an attractive young woman named Carol Lawrence (Gale Storm) who might have more luck getting close to Danny. But Carol's more interested in pursuing her music – and love – than any old papers.
Deathly dull, Swing Parade of 1946 isn't so much a movie as it is a series of set-pieces and musical numbers held together by the most minimal plot thread imaginable. What little plot there is wouldn't fill 10 minutes of the movie's runtime. Instead, the film goes something like this – a little plot followed a bit from the Three Stooges followed by an excruciating, painfully long music number. Just repeat this pattern for 74 minutes. The Stooges are wasted and out-of-place repeating bits most fans will have seen a number of times previous. Regan and Storm are both too uninteresting to carry the film themselves. I know that, at least in the case of Gale Storm, she would go on to have a long career in entertainment, but it's difficult to imagine that after watching this movie. I never thought I would say this, but Edward Brophy actually comes out of Swing Parade of 1946 looking better than anyone else – well, anyone other than Louis Jordan. Jordan and his band are the film's real highlight. As for the rest, it's all 'lowlights". Unless you're just a fan of really bad musicals from the mid-1940s, I'd say skip this one altogether.
3/10
"Do you always fight over girls?", 4 April 2008
Before watching Road to Bali, Road to Singapore was the only other Hope/Crosby Road movie I'd seen. I enjoyed Road to Singapore and I've been meaning to give some more of these movies a go. In comparison, however, Road to Bali is terrible. It's just not funny. The jokes and sight gags never seem to hit their mark. For example, the bit about the loved starved gorilla was painful to watch. I was especially annoyed with all the self-referential, "look, we're in a movie" attempts at humor. When used judiciously, breaking the mythical fourth wall and speaking directly to the audience can be funny. Unfortunately, Bob Hope does it so often in Road to Bali that I wanted to scream. Also, I've real other comments where people favorably mention the various cameos. They felt forced and didn't work for me either.
With all that being said, that doesn't mean I'm not going to give some of the other Road movies a shot. Next time, however, I think I'll stick with one of the earlier ones.
3/10
Deathly Dull, 2 October 2007
Two country singers and their manager are on their way to Nashville when they decide to find a place to stop and spend the night. They find a deserted mansion that seems to nicely fit the bill. But this mansion may be haunted. And if it's not, it certainly is the hideout of a group of baddies up to no good. Will the country crooners make through the night to live their dreams in Music City?
What do you get when you mix a supposed haunted house, loads of country music, aging horror icons, and some ridiculous attempts at humor? In the case of Hillbillys in a Haunted House, you get this mess of a movie. To begin with, the "haunted house" is about as threatening looking as my neighbor's house. And by the time the spooks show up, who cares? I know I had lost interest long before any ghost made an appearance. And could the country music be any more dull? If I weren't already a non-fan of country music, I certainly would be after watching this movie. As I watched, I really felt sorry for Carradine, Chaney, and especially Rathbone. To have to appear in a disaster like this. If it weren't for Joi Lansing, I would have turned Hillbillys in a Haunted House off about halfway through. It's that bad!
1/10
Lugosi, Karloff, and Lorre, 4 February 2005
IMDb lists this film as a Comedy / Horror / Musical / Mystery. While it does have elements of all four genres, none are portrayed very well. The comedy is weak. The horror is almost non-existent. While there are musical numbers, none is very memorable. And the mystery could be solved by a first grader. Sounds pretty bad, huh?
With all this having been said, I still enjoy this movie. Why? Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi, and Peter Lorre make their only joint appearance in a film (that I'm aware of). Each provides a level of excitement and enjoyment to what would otherwise be a very forgettable movie. In the film, they are plotting together to scheme a rich heiress out of her fortune. It's up to Kay Kyser and his band to save the day. The plot involves psychics, poison darts, ghosts, trap doors, and hidden passageways. If you're a fan of Lugosi, Karloff, and Lorre, You'll Find Out can be fun.
5/10
